The Gilpins had not attained to the prosperous condition they enjoyed
without persevering toil and constant exertion both of mind and body.
Some stirring incidents had occurred; but, at the same time months
passed by in a comparatively monotonous manner. Every day they were in
the saddle, sometimes from morning till night; but however delightful
that style of life may be--and that it has its attractions to most men
there can be no doubt--men of educated minds must at times feel an
almost insupportable weariness, and earnestly long for a change. There
can be but little social intercourse; some suffer materially from the
want of public worship and religious instruction, and all must feel its
absence. Still, those who are fitted for a life in the bush, and have
led it for any length of time, quit it generally with regret, and return
to it with satisfaction.
Never had the Gilpins been more busy. Their house was nearly finished.
It was rather large for two bachelors, to be sure; but their ideas must
have expanded of late. They had much more assistance than formerly
rendered by Craven, their most efficient and active overseer, and his
assistant, Larry. No one would have recognised the dispirited, almost
broken-hearted hut-keeper in the fine, active, intelligent man he had
now become. Gentlemanly even in his poverty, he had always been. He
now looked more fit to set a squadron in order, and lead them against
the foe, than to keep sheep; yet to superintend the keeping of sheep he
was well content. He had greatly enlarged and improved the old hut,
having converted it indeed into a comfortable house, with a
flower-garden in front and one for vegetables in the rear.
One of the greatest matters of interest to the bushman, who has loved
relations in the old country, is the arrival of the post. Often with
trembling, always with eager, hands the packets are opened; sometimes
they give satisfaction, and afford subjects for pleasant conversation
for many a day; but at others, and too often, they bring news to grieve
the hearts of their readers. Such had been the case with the Gilpins,
some time back, when a letter with a broad black border arrived, and
told them of the death of a father they had so much reason to reverence
and love. Several changes had taken place in their family circle.
Their eldest brother had married; and their two sisters seemed doubtful,
when they last heard from home, whether or not they should continue to
reside with him.
The two brothers were sitting together in their nicely furnished
dining-room. The dark wainscoting and the proportions of the apartment
reminded them of the one they had loved so well in their far-off home in
the old country. A dray had just arrived from the west, and Green made
his appearance with the letter-bag in hand. Eagerly the contents were
glanced over.
"Arthur, they are coming--both the dear girls, Jane and Susan--and
Willie as an escort!" exclaimed James, in a tone of great satisfaction.
"Oh! it will be delightful. How pleased Fanny and Emily will be!" cried
Arthur.
Indeed, no event could by possibility have caused the brothers more true
pleasure; and, as may be supposed, it formed the subject for
conversation for the remainder of the evening and for many evenings
afterwards. Of course it was necessary for James to ride over to
Prentiss Town to announce the event.
"As soon after they arrive as it can be arranged," was the reply made by
Fanny to a question put to her during his visit. It seemed highly
satisfactory, and was received with strong marks of gratitude.
When James returned home, Arthur was not happy till he could set off to
Prentiss Town. He must have put a question to Emily, not unlike that
which James put to Fanny.
"Perhaps the same day that my sister is," was her reply.
Not long after, James set off for Sydney. Arthur would gladly have gone
also, but what with their own flocks and herds, and the numerous ones
over which they had charge, it was, they thought, scarcely fair to
Craven to leave him so long alone. Of late, too, there had been reports
of wonderful discoveries of gold--nuggets to rival those of California;
and some of the shepherds and stockmen had already gone off to the
region where the gold was reported to have been found, and it was feared
that others might follow. James had not been in Sydney since his first
arrival in the country. The whole city was in a ferment. There was no
doubt of the truth of the reports of the discovery of gold, not only in
one, but in several directions. Nuggets of all sizes and heaps of
gold-dust had already been brought in. The gold fever had commenced,
and men of all ages, ranks, and professions were fitting themselves out
with knapsacks, spades, washers, and other apparatus for the
gold-fields. People were surprised that James took matters so calmly.
"I prefer that others should dig for me--an occupation for which I never
had a fancy, except for an hour or two in my garden in a morning," he
answered. "If people rush out of the colony, as it is expected they
will, the price of stock will rise very greatly, and I shall have ample
fortune for all my wishes." It did rise, far higher than he expected,
and he was not disappointed. His heart throbbed with anxiety as he went
down to the harbour to visit the ship on board which his sisters had
taken their passage. He singled them out among a large number of
passengers, though they did not recognise the strongly built, bearded,
and well-browned man as their brother, who had left them a fair, slight
youth a few years before. News of the gold discoveries had reached
England some time before the ship sailed, and a great number of her
passengers were intended gold-diggers--a mixed and ill-matched
assemblage, all inspired, however, with the one ruling passion, an eager
to grow rich suddenly. There were young men--still mere lads--who had
time before them to make themselves independent by steady industry; and
old men who, it might be supposed, had little else to do than to prepare
for another world. There were nominal representatives of all religious
faiths, but drawn together to worship one god--Mammon, yet not as
brethren, for each seemed eager to supplant the other. The Miss Gilpins
told their brother that the universal subject of conversation during the
voyage was gold, gold-digging, gold-washing, gold-scraping.
"Like the old man in the `Pilgrim's Progress' with his muck-rake, always
scraping with downcast looks, never gazing upwards," remarked James.
"Ah! it is sad work; and yet, when a person gets down in the world, and
feels the want of the wealth he once possessed, it must be a severe
trial to him to prevent his mind from continually dwelling on the means
by which he may regain it."
The greater number of the passengers were eager to set off immediately
for the diggings; and every vehicle to be found was secured at a high
price, many giving promises of breaking down before half the journey was
performed. Many talked of trudging it on foot; and of these, several of
them never reached their destination, having either lost their way and
died from fatigue and starvation in the bush, or being drowned when
crossing some river, by being carried down by the current. The lions of
Sydney were soon visited; and James, with his two sisters and young
brother, set off in high spirits for Warragong. He had a lightly-built
covered waggon, with strong springs--the best style of vehicle for
travelling in the bush. The journey was performed, if not rapidly, yet
with great ease and comfort; and there were so many objects of interest,
all new to the strangers--the birds, beasts, reptiles, and scenery, the
very look of the people, and the characters they met--that no one was
weary. As may be supposed, they called at Prentiss Town on their way,
and, of course, spent a few days there; and, naturally, Arthur arrived
to escort them home. The daughters of the English farmer had been more
practically brought up than the Australian young ladies, educated in a
school in Sydney. They could teach them much connected with the dairy
and numerous household duties, of which they had never heard. Not that
the Miss Gilpins were, in the slightest degree, less refined or less
educated than their new friends. Of course, the visit was to be
returned; there was some joking, however, on that subject, which a
stranger might not very clearly have understood. On the road, the party
were met by Craven, well mounted, and dressed in the most approved
fashion. He came, as in duty bound, to escort his friends' sisters to
their new abode.
"And is this the hut you spoke of, dear brothers?" exclaimed the
sisters, in the same voice. "What a delightful house! And this room,
the very model of the dear old parlour. We are sure you intended it."
And Jane and Susan kissed their brothers, who were more than amply
repaid by the happiness they felt for the years of toil they had
endured, and all the exertions they had made to get the house ready.
They had an idea that those sisters would not remain long under their
roof, sorry though they would be to lose them; that is to say, not if
their bachelor neighbours had a particle of good taste or judgment.
Willie was delighted with everything. His great ambition was to become
a first-rate stockman. He was rather young to begin active life; but he
had made good use of his time at school, and he promised, when he left
England, that he would not give up reading and study. The Gilpins had
found the time pass quickly before the arrival of their sisters, they
now found it pass still more quickly; and it was only by managing it
with the greatest care that they could accomplish what they had to do.
The Miss Gilpins entered warmly into all Fanny's and Emily's plans--
which had, indeed, now become their brothers'--for giving religious
instruction to the surrounding population, which had of late years
considerably increased. Though many of the men went off to the
diggings, the women remained, hoping to see them return, loaded with
wealth. Not a hut nor a residence of any sort remained unvisited by
these six active young missionaries, who left tracts or books wherever
they went. They procured some Bibles from Sydney, and many a cottage,
where the Word of God had never been heard, was supplied by them. They
had great reason to believe that a blessing attended their efforts.
They had often made application in Sydney for an appointed minister of
the Gospel. One at length came, but he had a wide circuit, so that he
could not come to any spot within the Sunday morning's journey more than
six or eight times in the year. He went his rounds, preaching on
weekdays, from station to station, and holding a service every evening
where he rested. Such is the only human agency by which spiritual life
can be maintained in the wide-scattered sheep and stock stations in
Australia, and it behoves all those connected with that magnificent
land, who love the Lord Jesus Christ, to aid in sending missionaries of
the Gospel through its length and breadth. There are many who have
scarcely ever heard the glad tidings of salvation; many have passed
away, sunk almost in heathen darkness. At length, a regular place of
worship was built, to the satisfaction of many, which satisfaction was
by no means decreased by an interesting event which took place there
shortly afterwards, namely, the marriages of Jane and Arthur Gilpin. It
would be difficult to find a more united, contented, and happy family
than that now dwelling at Warragong, and certainly, if steady,
persevering, industry and uprightness of conduct should be rewarded, the
Gilpins richly deserved their success. Sam Green, too, had followed his
young master's example, and had taken to himself as a wife the eldest
daughter of his old acquaintance, Sykes, the former coachman of Mr
Henry Prentiss, who had followed his master into the country, and
settled near him. Larry Killock won the heart of another daughter; but,
although Mr Sykes had himself come out at the Government expense, he
objected to the alliance, because Larry was not yet entirely a free man.
Larry was, however, able to prove that his crime was having joined some
popular outbreak; and being at length freed completely from bondage, his
wishes were no longer opposed, and he settled down near the friends to
whom he had, with good reason, become so warmly attached.